Wednesday May 18, 2011 Mary Sue Players (part one)

Over the last few weeks I have been thinking about which games I enjoy playing and why. I do seem to favor the indie game scene and with my desire to expand my social gaming network, one incentive has been popping to the front; player types. Many indie RPGs outline what the actual play experience should be. Some are fairly direct while others systems have it built in, either way; there is style of play that is expected. This limits the types of players who want to play the game. Think of these three board games; Chess, Diplomacy, and Monopoly. Each have their own style and anyone can play them, however, whichever one you prefer playing explains what you want out of that experience.

I have noticed that indie games, for me, repel player types that I do not like playing with. Not all of them, but the really annoying ones. I guess my worst player type is the Mary Sue, that player who has to prove that they are better than all the other players and has to be the center of attention. The problem with the player type which I just categorized is that I take two bad player traits and combine them. The reason is, I generally can play with either type; it’s just I cannot take it when they are combined. I can handle players who want to compete in RPGs; they usually want a sense of fairness so they can beat the system. I can also handle the spot-lighter, who just wants everyone to see them; because they do not stop me from solving the problems. The Mary Sue player cannot let anyone else do anything because they might be better at it. Mary Sue players are willing to do anything so their character remains on top, even if it means reading the adventure that you are in.